POLYMER FEEDSTOCK - ETHYLENE

Ethylene prices dipped to US$1210/MT in Asia in the week of September 17, 2007. Prices in Asia dipped by almost thirty dollars on account of weaker demand from downstream PE manufacturers. PE demand remained lackluster on the eve of scheduled maintenance shutdown over the months of September and October. Market players are anticipating a continuous increase of ethylene supply- as Formosa's 700,000 tpa no.1 cracker restarts next week.